Recently, there has been interest in edible oils substitutes to effect caloric reduction. Initial approach involved dilution with air or water. But that had the disadvantage of a reduction of both the perceived quality and richness of edible compounds and food compositions.
More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,287 teaches a suspension of tiny spheres of dairy protein to mimic texture of fat in certain foods such as ice cream or salad dressing. Because this suspension has about 1.3 calories/g, compared with 9 calories/g for typical fat, a considerable caloric reduction is possible. Unfortunately, this material cannot be fried or baked and therefore cannot be used as a total fat replacement.
A more attractive and versatile approach to this problem is to reduce the fat-related caloric intake by a modification of the fat to reduce or prevent absorption of fat-derived calories. According to Mattson and Nolen, J. Nutr., 102, 1171 (1972), "the absorbability of a fat is determined by two processes, hydrolysis in the lumen of the intestinal tract and the subsequent absorption of the digestion products." Without this hydrolysis, the fat would not be in the form required for intestinal absorption and would pass through the body unchanged. If nothing is absorbed, the material would be noncaloric.
The "Olestra" brand of sucrose polyester is a known material that does not chemically change in the body. "Olestra", along with other similar compounds, is reported to have satisfactory organoleptic properties for use in food, but is not absorbed like fat due to a low rate of intestinal hydrolysis. Hence, it has a very low caloric availability.
Unfortunately, ingestion of even moderate amounts of this type of material can result in an undesired laxative effect, namely, leakage of the liquid material through the anal sphincter. See J. Food Science. 49, 419-28 (1984). This anal leakage problem seems to be the inevitable result of the ingestion of an oily material with limited digestibility. Thus, a successful fat replacement must avoid this laxative effect.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,195 teaches another way of avoiding the laxative effect of "Olestra" by using solid fatty acids and solid fatty acid esters as anti-anal leakage additives. Unfortunately, this solution has the drawback of giving the food composition a "waxy" feel in the mouth, due to the high solids content of the mixture.
Additionally, European Patent Application No. 87/870,021.0, Publication No. 236,288 teaches another way to avoid the laxative effect by preparing a form of "Olestra" with a non-Newtonian pseudoplastic rheology at body temperature. The special rheology of this material, high viscosity during excretion, but low viscosity during ingestion, is said to prevent anal leakage without adversely affecting the feel of the product in the mouth. Yet, a second European Patent Application, Publication No. 233,856, teaches that a better tasting low calorie fat material can be formulated by mixing this pseudoplastic form of "Olestra" with a normal liquid triglyceride. According to this disclosure, the resulting mixture does not taste as "waxy in the mouth" as the special fat substitute alone. However, by mixing a normal liquid triglyceride with the pseudoplastic form of Olestra, it is not as low in calories.
The preceding references are hereby incorporated by reference.
What is needed in this area is a low calorie, edible oil substitute that has the physical properties and pleasing feel in the mouth of a normal liquid triglyceride oil, but that does not promote a laxative effect. This substitute has now been discovered.